Love and Leaders
by Esmth
Summary: Zuko joins the Gaang after Iroh is struck by Azula. Katara is taken by the sandbenders while the others are in the library and Zuko realizes his feelings for her. In Ba Sing Se the earth king crown is no stranger to evil and deceit. A story told from Zuko and Katara's view between flashbacks and real time as they learn not love, nor leaders: are ever as they seem.
1. Shards of glass

_Ch 1. Zuko_

Zuko's feet crashed into the hot sand as the tower behind him disappeared into the ground, leaving behind nothing but a circular indentation in the desert. He rolled on the ground panting from his fight with the winged spirit and the race out of the sinking library. The others had gathered around Appa who was growling in distress but Zuko had noticed immediately something was wrong: she was missing. His eyes darted around the desert, "Where's Katara?" he demanded.

Sokka's head shot up, "wha-", but Zuko had pushed passed him, his eyes locked on something glimmering in the sand and ignoring everyone's confusion he snatched it from the desert, his knees sinking to the ground.

A familiar engraved blue stone sat now in his palms threaded through a thick black thread with frayed edges, as if it had been torn off the owners neck; "No. No, no, no…." Inexplicable amounts of panic and raged settle within him and he whipped around, suddenly on his feet, still clutching the necklace in his fist. His eyes locked on Appa, "Where is she!" He didn't care that he was talking to a flying bison, he didn't care what the others were thinking about him, all he knew was that _did_ care about his...friend? Whatever he and Katara were, it wasn't important.

"I'm asking you, stupid bison where is she!", blood was beginning to boil within him. Appa roared, a sound of distraught and immeasurable anguish. Aang's eyes flashed angrily at the insult but before he could open his mouth Sokka's voice cut through.

He was facing away from them pointing, "There. Sand-sailer tracks." He turned to face them, "Sand benders were here. They took her." The tracks stretched a few hundred feet before they had vanished, a result of the desert winds.

Aang looked at them sadly, absent-mindedly stroking the anguished bisons head; "We need to go," he turned to Appa, "It wasn't your fault buddy. We can get her back, but we need to leave, and keep flying." He made to mount Appa but Zuko interjected.

His voice was unrestrained, tumultuous and so very angry, "You all don't even care do you! She's gone! She could be dead, or tortured, or left abandoned in the desert but you're all still worried about Appa and the stupid Earth King's army" His rage exploded and he yelled. No he _screamed_ , dropping to his knees, as a surge of his own fire shot up around him melting the sand grains into sharp glass. He hung his head panting, fists clenched as the ring of fire diminished leaving a circle of glimmering shards around him. None of them cared as much as he did, and the tears that were slowly dropping from his eyes were surprising, he wasn't even sure why _he_ cared this much. Why he felt like some large part of him was missing, replaced with nothing but a blue necklace.

"Zuko-" Sokka had taken a hesitant step toward him, but his voice was clear and strong "She's my sister, I care about her too." He made to touch his shoulder but decided against it, his fist clenched and unclenched as his arm dropped to his side. "But we need to tell the Earth King about what we learned, about the eclipse-"

"So what we're just going to forget about her?"

"No Zuko…", this time it was Toph who spoke up, her voice uncharacteristically soft, "We need to return to the Oasis first anyway, to regroup and get a map to Ba Sing Se, we'll see if we can find out what the sand-benders may have done." She _did_ put her hand on his shoulder, stepping over the deadly glass shards surrounding him, "Come on Zuko….let's go."

He stood up, his anger replaced with a hollow feeling. Aang was already perched on Appa, his head hung low. Silently, Sokka and Toph boarded the saddle and as Zuko made to follow, the necklace still in his fist, he couldn't help but feel like they were leaving something important behind. He settled himself at the very back, far away from the others, his golden eyes still on the sands below, his nerves frayed and his whole body a mass of emptiness, as if Katara's disappearance had sucked the life out of him leaving behind a firebender shaped husk. As Aang murmured "yip yip" and the bison took the the sky with a growl, a gust of wind wiped away the remained sand-sailer tracks, and now, the only clue of what had ever happened on the surface of the desert and what lay beneath the sand were two circles; a large one where the tower once stood, and small glimmering circle, rimmed with shards of glass, flashing like the fire that created them.


	2. Ropes and Darkness

_Katara_

Katara woke up with a start, her head smacking painfully on something hard right above her. She looked around bleary eyed in the darkness, becoming aware of her aching knees, strained from being kept too long in a crouched position. _I'm in a box._ Her wrists and ankles were bound and her eyes found a crack through which blinding sunlight shown through. She heard the sound of whipping wind and yelling voices; feeling sweat, heat, and grains of sand in various locations on her body. Her box was on something, and that something was definitely moving. Her eyes widened and she remembered what had happened….

 _Katara stood outside the tower with Appa. Waiting. The others had been inside for a while and the only reason why she was out here was because someone had to watch the bison. Sokka and Aang insisted on going inside, Toph couldn't see well outside, and Zuko, well Zuko was the only Fire nation informant they had so he was helpful. That left her behind. Katara's mind drifted to Zuko, how a man she had for so long seen as the enemy had become a friend. All because of that fateful day she had insisted on healing his uncle._

 _Shaking her head, clearing her mind of the firebender, Katara kicked the sand, but lost her balance as the ground beneath her suddenly began to tremble. She turned to face the tower and saw that it was rumbling; "Appa the library is sinking!" She tried to bend ice around the tower to hold it up but all she had was what was in her water sack, not much seeing as she and her friends had used it to drink. Desperate she turned to the bison and with understanding he pushed his head against the tower, his horns around it, using them the hold the shaking structure._

 _Shouts pierced the air, the sound of a young man; "There! It's the avatars bison!" Katara whirled around and cursed,_ Sandbenders. Now. Of all the possible times. _She thought darkly. Her water was ready and before the first sandbender rope could touch Appa she sliced it in half. The fight began, but the sand was uneven against her feet and she kept slipping. As more ropes emerged Katara began to falter but stayed in front of the bison, protecting him, protecting her friends. Sandbenders moved their arms encircling her in a whirlwind of desert, cutting off her vision, but still somehow she kept fighting. Suddenly through the whirlwind she heard another sandbender, older sounding._

" _Let's take the girl instead! If we take her to the Fire nation they may give us a reward, better than selling some mangy large beast."_

 _Appa began to growl, torn between abandoning the tower to save Katara or leaving her. Ropes shot through the sandy whirlwind, latching to her, her arms, torso, legs, wrist and neck. The last snagging on the necklace, tearing the black fabric and it fell to the ground. Katara gave up, "Its' alright Appa, I'll be ok. Aagh-" Suddenly her face hit the sand, the ropes yanked her to the ground dragging her away from the tower, the struggling bison, and somewhere deep beneath the sands: her friends._

The sand-sailer came to a sudden jolting stop caused Katara's body to careen forward, her head thwacking against the walls of the crate and her voice, sore with dehydration let out a hoarse cry, snapping her out from her reverie. A shuffling sound met her ears along with a series of grunts as she felt her wooden prison being lifted from the ground. They began to walk and from what Katara could tell it was cooler here, with solid ground and a salty smell around her. There were a lot of people, children crying, mothers trying to soothe them, some shouting and clamoring too.

"Stop." A commanding voice echoed and the sandbenders carrying her halted, causing her to jolt forward again.

Another voice, the familiar young voice of the sandbender that spotted Appa, "Dai Li agents? But what are you doing in Half Moon Bay?" Realizing that whoever said 'stop' wasn't a sandbender, Katara began to yell from inside the box, her voice cracking with dryness. The gag, slick with sweat had slipped down to her neck.

The first voice spoke again sharply, "I didn't know the sandbenders were in the business of human trafficking."

"We're taking her to the Fire Nation…she's a friend of the Avatar." A pause. Katara ceased her yelling to listen.

"Sir I'm afraid we need to take that girl from you." Before the sandbenders could protest, a series of grunts and thumps were issued as the men holding her box were incapacitated and she fell to the ground, every one of her muscles aching. The lid was lifted and Katara squinted, making out the outline of two men with braids and circular hats before fist shaped rock collided with her skull. The world went dark.


	3. Glaring Golden

_Zuko_

It felt like the ride to the Oasis was hours long. The entire time Zuko hadn't said a word, he sat on the very edge of the saddle far away from the others; who from what he could hear, were whispering in hushed tones about whether or not one of them should talk to him. As he stared vacantly out into the desert he caught fragments, "friends...Zuko...anger….Katara…" _Katara._ He shut his eyes and closed his fist tighter around the necklace. It was ironic, how the first time he had it he used it to track her and the avatar with the hopes of killing them both….and probably Sokka too. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be here, nor would uncle Iroh be alive. If it wasn't for them, she wouldn't be gone….

" _You caught me" Azula sighed, cornered, her hands raised in a show of peace; "A princess surrenders with honor." Zuko kept his eyes on her not trusting his sister to even breathe honestly….if that was possible. And there it was. Lightning fast, Azula brought her arm down, and a jet of blue fire struck Iroh in the chest, followed almost immediately by a barrage of wind, water, earth, Zuko's own fire, and the glint of a boomerang; all hitting the spot where she was. Azula had disappeared._

 _Zuko turned toward Iroh laying on the ground, immediately enraged to find that the waterbending girl was kneeling over him bending water over his chest. Before he could pull her off Aang stepped in front of him, his boyish face uncharacteristically fierce. "Let us help you Zuko."_

 _Behind him Toph snorted, "Sure twinkle toes, lets help the guy that's constantly trying to kill us."_

" _Yeah_ Katara _, what are you doing?" Sokka glared at his sister._

 _Zuko pushed past the airbender and tried to yank Katara back. She simply turned around to look at him, her blue eyes brimming with determination and….hatred? "I'm not helping you. I'm helping him and he's going to die if I don't." Without waiting for a response she turned back around, leaving Zuko gaping open mouthed._

"-you two dunderheads are driving me crazy! I'll do it myself." Zuko's eyes opened to the sound of Toph's voice ringing out. He turned as the thoroughly annoyed earthbender came beside him and sat down. "Hey," She said awkwardly.

He looked away, "None of you guys needs to talk to me. I'm fine."

"Oh please I don't even need my earthbending to know that you're lying." She scoffed, but after a pause she continued, her voice softer, "Listen you hothead, we're going to find her. We've got her brother, your angsty self, Aang who do anything for her, and me, who really prefers not being the only girl in the group. It's going to be ok." She punched his arm, somewhat painfully, but also with affection. He flinched but before he could say something the saddle shifted: they had landed.

Zuko's eyes scanned the desert and he found that Appa had landed right where all this started at the Sandy Palms Oasis. Hastily shoving the necklace inside his shirt he leapt off the bison and barreled through the dilapidated archway before the others had even stood up. He headed straight for the pub-like restaurant where they had met the profesor before and came to a halt in the doorway. The others had caught up to him.

"Um...Zuko? Is there a problem?" Sokka asked behind him.

Zuko stepped inside the dingy room, his glaring golden eyes on a group of familiar, injured, and disgruntled looking men in the corner. "Sandbenders" He said through gritted teeth as a flame ignited in his right fist. They were evidently unhappy about something, but so was he. He headed straight towards them, hand and eyes ablaze.

 **A/N: I want to improve my writing so feedback in the reviews are highly appreciated. Not much really happened in this chapter but trust me it gets more interesting from here on out. Thank you to all who posted reviews!**


	4. Icy Memories

_Katara_

Katara was getting seriously tired of waking up in the dark, being tied up, and getting hit in the head, but here she was: again. Groaning as her skull throbbed painfully, Katara noted that there was dried blood on her forehead. She shifted against the wall, every one of her muscles screaming. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Katar tried to piece together what had happened, and where she was. Who were those men? That sandbender had called them something. Die Li...agents? Who was Li and why did they want him to die so badly? Why did they take her take her? It was as if they knew who she was. Katara looked up, the walls around her had mold, and there was a damp mildew and salt smell permeating the air. The dim lamps were tinted jade green. She heard a strange sloshing sound and suddenly the floor beneath her tilted.

 _Half Moon Bay, water, Die-whatever agents…._ then the realization hit her, _I'm on a boat._ The waves rocked the boat again and judging by the fact that there was in fact a lot of tilt; she guessed she was at the very bottom. Whoever those agent people were; they weren't friendly, and they _were_ earth benders. Katara flinched remembering the fist shaped rock that collided with her forehead hours ago. She knew that she had to get out of this room, and somehow get off the ship. She scanned her dingy surroundings, she was alone but sure there were more of those men outside.

Utterly lacking grace, Katara rolled across the floor as close to the door as possible; ignoring how her limbs ached in protest. She reached the opposite wall and leaned against it. Using it to maneuver herself into an upright position and looked at the bindings on her wrist. The sandbenders ropes had been replaced with rocks in the shape of hands. Katara groaned; this was going to be harder than she expected. She couldn't bend water even though she was basically in the ocean and the helplessness made her want to scream. But she didn't. _Calm down Katara, let's solve the problem._ Suddenly, realization struck her like a rock glove from a Dai Li agent…..

 _She barraged him with waves of water, over and over and over again as he grunted in pain. Katara released all of her anger with one last strike and then the infuriating man was pushed up against the tree. He looked at her, his expression still excruciatingly smug. Katara let out a cold exhale, her breath turning the water on his body into ice, pinning him to the tree. "Why Jet? I can't believe I trusted you…"_

Katara knew what she needed to do. Her eyes found a puddle just a few inches away from were she crouched; a result of leaks in the walls and ceiling. She rolled again, towards it, placing her wrists in the shallow ditch; shifting around so that it would be coated in as much water as possible, making sure that some ran between the crevices of the rock. When she had done as much as she could, Katara brought her head as close to her wrists as possible and remembering the way Jet froze in the forest, she exhaled. The water on the rock turned to ice and what liquid had seeped between the gaps in the rock expanded as she blew, weakening the bindings. Then, she lifted her arms as high as possible. Using all the strength she could muster, she brought her arms down hard. There was a sharp crack and the bonds broke: she could bend again.

Wasting no time, Katara used her newly free arms to bend the puddle water, wearing away the binding on her ankles until that too came loose. She rushed to the door, her body still stiff from prior lack of movement. Nonetheless, she froze the lock, broke it, and kicked the door open. The guard who had been standing outside whipped around in surprise but before he could react Katara pushed him aside and stumbled through the hall.

"She's escaped!" Katara heard him yell as she flung herself up the staircase, running until she found herself on the open deck. She halted.

The smell of poverty mingled with ocean breeze hit her nose. She blinked, her eyes caught off guard by the presence of sunlight. There were hundreds of people huddled on the ground; families, men, women, babies, and children. All of them poor but somewhat hopeful. _Refugees. This is a ferry to Ba Sing se._

"There she is!" A shout from a general guard, not one of the agents, startled her and she took off again, making to jump overboard. Anything to escape. Weaving around the huddles of refugees that were either eating mush, or muttering to themselves and others, Katara drew nearer to the ship's railing. She glanced behind her for just a split second to see whether the guards were still on the chase. As soon as turned back, she collided face first with something. No _someone._ Gasping she drew backward surprised, but whoever it was had caught her wrists holding her still.

Katara was staring at the chest of man wearing clothing that was all too familiar. She looked up, coming face to face with tan skin and dark brown eyes. "Katara?" She heard the man say. Her eyes widened

Jet was here.

 **A/N: Sorry I couldn't help it - What's an Avatar fanfic w/o Jet? Thank you so much to JakeKatie4ever; whose reviews made me smile and encouraged me to keep going with something I was really nervous about trying (this story) . Will update again as soon as possible!**


	5. Dust and Barbarians

_Zuko_

Zuko marched straight towards the sandbenders who were nursing their wounds. They looked up surprised, but before any of them could say anything, he grabbed one by the collar and violently pinned him up against the wall with his left hand. His right fist still ablaze, inches from the mans face. The sanbender made a choking sound but Zuko paid no heed. "Where is she?" he growled, the flame in his fist growing brighter.

"What-" The man choked out. His eyes found Aang standing next to Zuko; they sparked with recognition.

"Don't make me repeat myself!" Zuko was yelling now, "Where is the waterbending girl?" The sandbender looked at Zuko, his eyes full of terror, but his mouth closed. Zuko drew his right fist back preparing to strike this man in the face before-

"Wait." Another, older sandbender stood up, his eyes darted towards Aang and then back to Zuko. "Don't hurt my son." He sighed, "We came to capture the Avatars bison, to sell it for money…" The man paused, swallowed, and then started again, "We decided to take the waterbending girl because she was a friend of the Avatar. W-we thought to turn her in for a reward but-"

"Zuko…" Sokka warned nervously. He, Aang and Toph had turned around, forming protective circle around Zuko and the sandbenders. "You may want to hurry up…" Zuko turned around to find that many of the other customers in the bar had risen from their seats, weapons drawn, and grinning menacingly. His eyes found a wanted poster with his own face on it pinned to the back wall. He cursed and turned back to the sandbender.

"I'm not going to repeat myself again," His eyes a mask of anger. "Tell me where she is: _now."_

The sandbender stuttered, "W-we were taking her to half moon bay when the Dai Li stopped us."

The customers were drawing closer, weapons still out; effectively cutting Zuko and the others off from the exit. There were too many to fight. "Who are the Dai Li?" Zuko demanded.

"They-They're supposed to be the cultural protectors of Ba Sing Se. We had no idea why they were so far away from the city." Sweat began to bead on the man's forehead as Zuko's fire grew hotter still, "When we told them she was friends with the Avatar they ambushed our men and took her." He gulped, eyeing the fire nervously, "My guess is that they're taking her to Ba Sing Se."

"Zuko we need to go now." Aang's voice cut through the air sharply. Dropping the sandbender with crash and grunt, Zuko whirled around to find that he and his friends were cornered.

"There's no way to fight them all."

"Oh really? Because I could take all of them. 1 to 27." Toph cracked her knuckles.

"Listen ladies," Sokka put his hands up in surrender, "It's understandable why you would want the Fire prince. He's worth a _ton of money._ Not to mention he's extremely good looking, in an angsty emo sort of way." He winked.

"Sokka what are you doing?" Zuko growled.

Ignoring him Sokka plowed on, "But there's one problem: which one you guys gets the reward money?" The men around him shifted, eyeing each other with new distrust. Sokka shrugged, "It may be a lot of money, I'd like to see you split it all between the 20 something of you."

As if on cue a man shouted, "I saw the traitor prince first!"

Another replied, "No I did!" And one by one the men turned their weapons from Zuko, Toph, Aang and Sokka, onto one another instead. Shouting, fighting and chaos ensued. Swords clanged, swears were issued, and no longer was anyone paying the Fire Prince any attention.

The four kids rushed out the door of room before someone shouted, "They're getting away!"

Sprinting out of the Oasis, Zuko and the others jumped onto Appa's back. Aang urged, "Yip Yip!" and the bison took to the sky, leaving a cloud of dust and angry barbarians in his wake. When they were safe distance away Aang turned to Zuko, "So where's Katara? Where are we going?"

"Where we intended to go all along," Zuko was gazing beyond the the horizon as the sun began to set on the desert, a new intensity in his eyes. He turned his fiery gaze to Aang; "Ba Sing Se."


	6. Wounds and Old Faces

_Katara_

"What are you doing here?" Jet asked her, releasing her wrists so that she could step back and look at him. Not that she wanted to.

"Jet." She nearly spat. Irony really hated her, she had just been thinking of him and freezing water minutes ago and here he was; back in her life once more. "I really don't have time for this." She spun around, making to walk away, only to be faced with two guards and two Dai Li agents, their hands hidden in their sleeves. Surprised, she stumbled backwards, crashing into Jet, his hands closing around her shoulders.

"Katara, what's going on?" He asked slowly. Katara shook her head, trembling slightly.

"Hand her over. By order of the head of the Dai Li she needs to be taken to Ba Sing Se." One of the agents had spoken, moving his arms to reveal hands covered in rock gloves.

"Jet…." Katara spoke out of the corner of her mouth, "Let me go."

Losing patience the Dai Li agents shot their arms forward to attack. Quick as lightning Jet spun her around to face him, drew out his own weapons and in a fluid motion, his hooks swiped the ground where the Dai Li stood, catching them by the ankles and bringing them to the ground. He grabbed her hand, "Let's go."

The two of them ran across the galley. Katara realized she was still holding Jet's hand and quickly let go. "There!" she pointed, "A railing! We can jump overboard." The two of them turned hard right. They were inches away from escape when suddenly she heard a sharp whistle and a thud as two earth gloves clamped around Jet's ankles and wrists and he fell to the ground. Another whistle and Katara fell too, groaning in pain as her shoulder hit the deck hard, followed by her head.

The guards hoisted the two of them up roughly. Katara was panting and both of them were bleeding; Jet's lip was cut and the wound on Katara's forehead had reopened. The two Dai Li agents stood before them, their hands neatly in their sleeves as if nothing had happened.

"Katara," Jet wheezed, blood dripping down his chin, "You really need to tell me what's going on."

Minutes later the two of them were back in the small dingy room at the bottom of the boat. This time the guards had chained them to the wall, furthering limiting their options. With no other choice, and some time to kill, Katara reluctantly recounted to Jet what had happened since she first saw him.

"...So then I was taken from the sandbenders by these Dai Li agents who insisted on bringing me to Ba Sing Se. So here I am." She finished lamely.

"Why would the Dai Li agents hurt you," Jet mused. "The Earth Kingdom should be helping the Avatar since they stand to gain if Ozai is defeated."

Katara sighed, leaning her head against the slimy damp wall, "I don't know Jet. I just want to get back to Aang and Zuko and the others-"

"Prince _Zuko_?!" Jet's outburst was sudden, "You're working with the prince of the Fire Nation?" He scoffed, evidently disgusted.

"He's a more honorable, trustworthy, and kind man than _you_ Jet." Her words were cold and hard, but they also sort of surprised her.

Jet's expression softened with apology and he tried to shift towards her as best he could given his bindings. She turned away from him, embarrassed that tears were suddenly sliding down her face, "And I really thought I trusted you."

"Katara, I'm sorry." Jet insisted, "I know now that I was messed up and hurt. Smellerbee, Longshot, and I came here to start a new life in Ba Sing Se." (The freedom fighters were somewhere on the deck but no one had come to find them) "I'm a better man now Katara. I've changed."

Katara said nothing in response and the two of them sat there in silence until when what felt like hours later when the boat went still. Katara looked up, "We're here."

The doors to the room slid open and silently, two Dai Li agents swept in, unlocked the chains holding them to the wall, and dragged them to their feet.

As the pair of them were led out of the room Katara realized that she may be heading to her death. She didn't have a choice though. The lack of food, and repeated blows to her head made her dizzy and delirious. She smiled to herself like a crazy person, _Well Katara, get you hair loopies ready; the great city awaits._

 **A/N: So I'm trying to stick to canon in terms of story progression but we can for sure say that apart from more familiar faces some new characters are going to pop up as the Earth Crown conspiracy unravels. Updates may come a little less frequently this week but the plot only thickens. Thanks again for all the reviews and of course more feedback is very much welcome.**


	7. The Drill

_Zuko_

Appa's flight to Ba Sing Se had lasted the night. Aang slept, Sokka and Toph snored, but Zuko had lain awake the entire night worrying _._ Not by choice of course. He physically _couldn't_ sleep because whenever he tried, horrible scenarios that Katara could be in kept popping up in his head. Tortured, starved, abandoned, _dead._ Each time he arrived at the latter Zuko forced himself to not yell out loud. Why was he even the one worrying anway when everyone else knew her better and _they_ could still sleep. The entire time the necklace had been inside his shirt, cold but comforting against his heart.

Now though, it was daylight and the walls of Ba Sing Se had come into view. As the others began to wake up, Zuko's eyes caught on something at the bottom of the the outer wall. Even from here he could see it didn't belong. Large dust clouds billowed around it and stuff was falling from above it. Zuko squinted, _rocks?_

Beside him Aang rubbed his eyes and sat up, stopping mid yawn as his eyes found what Zuko had been looking at. "What _is_ that?"

"I know!" Toph said.

Everyone turned around. "Really?"

"No, I'm blind." She moved her hands rapidly back and forth across her face.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "We need to get closer." Appa swooped low and soon the disturbance came into view. A large metal monster of a cylinder was making its way towards the wall. Tanks traveled on either side it. The front of the machine tapered into a spinning end. It was a giant drill. But it wasn't the unusuality of the drill that surprised him, it was the large black Fire Nation insignia plastered on it that made his blood boil.

Appa landed a safe distance away from the drill and all of them dismounted. Toph opened up a hole in the ground and upon Sokka's command, everyone leapt in. Momentarily in darkness as Toph led them through the tunnel. They ended up right under the drill. The ground beneath them trembled violently as it pushed forward.

"Everyone inside!" Sokka ordered. One by one Aang, Zuko, and Sokka jumped up into the drill. "Toph are you coming?" Sokka asked over the deafening noise of the drill

"No way! I can't see in there. I'll try my best to stop it out here." She yelled back, assuming horse stance. Sokka shrugged and the three of them disappeared into drill.

"Sokka do you even know _how_ we're going to stop the drill?" Aang asked when they were inside.

"Hey! Why am I the only one who needs to come up with stuff?" Sokka said.

Everyone stared at him.

"Fine… but I need to get schematics first."

"No need," Zuko spoke up, "I know how this works."

Sokka and Aang gaped at him.

Ignoring them he continued, "It's a hydraulic system, the Fire Nation has been developing this type of mechanics for a while it-"

"-Ooh ooh it's like the grappling tanks!" Sokka interjected excitedly, "From the when the Fire Nation tried to take over the Northern Air Temple!"

"Um, sure?"

Sokka tapped his chin, "Hydraulics…. that explains the steam and water. Theoretically all we would need to do is sabotage that mechanism."

"And how do we do that?" Aang asked.

"We need to break the system! If we go to the center of the drill where the most of the water valves and steam are it should be easy enough." Sokka's eyes lit up, happy but focused and determined. "Let's g-"

"-You're not going anywhere." A sharp voice that was all too familiar to Zuko rang out. He turned around to see none other than his sister Azula and Ty Lee, both in battle stance.

Aang took out his staff, "I'll hold them off. You and Sokka get to the center of the drill."

Sokka and Zuko took of running toward the heart of the engine. "There! I can see the doorway!" Just before Zuko could follow Sokka through, a tiny metal blade flew past him, grazing his ear before clinging against the steel wall behind it. Zuko whipped around to see a girl in dark clothes and black hair, with another blade in her gloved hand. His voice caught in his throat

" _Mai."_


	8. Hidden Enemies

_Katara_

Katara and Jet were sandwiched between a total of four Dai Li agents in a metal ostrich-horse drawn carriage that had no windows. Making no attempts to communicate with one another, their shoulders bumped as the carriage jostled along a roughly paved road. The fear and apprehension that had consumed Katara when she was first taken had been replaced with deliriousness and exhaustion alike.

They traveled on in suspenseful silence for the next hour. Katara couldn't help but notice that as they moved along the ride became smoother. The paved road beneath them evened out and seemed to be newer or better.

Finally after what seemed like days, the metal carriage finally came to a stop. Two Dai L agents leapt out and the other two grabbed Katara and Jet roughly, yanking them out of the vehicle.

Katara's eyes adjusted to the sudden presence of sunlight. Just for a second she stood awestruck gaping at the giant green and gold ornate doors with intricately carved dragons, boars and various other animals and patterns. But before she could take it all in, the Dai Li agents yanked her into a smaller, far less fancy side passageway. She heard Jet yelling in protest behind her but stayed silent.

They turned into a large room with scrolls and bound paper lining the shelves. An ornate fireplace stood in the center and all the lamps were tinted jade green casting an eerie glow on the room. _Another library._

Katara and Jet were roughly thrown on the elaborately woven green rug, on their knees, their hands and ankles still bound. A man stood before them, his back turned, facing the fire. Jet immediately spoke up, "Who are you people? Does the Earth King know about this? The Freedom Fighters will-"

A rock band closed around his mouth muffling his protests.

The man turned around, he had sharp features, jet black hair, and a thin sharp goatee. "So…." He surveyed Katara, "You are the famed Katara, friend of the Avatar, waterbending _master_." While his words were kind, he spoke them with a mocking undertone.

Katara disliked him immediately. "My friends and I were just visiting the desert library. I got taken by sand-benders and then your _agents,"_ She spat, "brought me here."

The man stroked his goatee, continuing as if he didn't hear her, "We received intelligence that you and your little friends were making their way to Ba Sing Se after Omashu fell in hopes of finding aid to defeat the Firelord." Suddenly he leaned toward her, his face dangerously close and his brown beady eyes boring into hers, "but you'll find that we will not give you the help you so desperately seek."

Katara wanted to yank that goatee right off his ugly face.

"Now tell me, my Dai Li agents heard from the bartender at the Oasis that your friends have information, a secret weapon to defeating the Firebenders."

Katara, couldn't help but laugh; they didn't have any information. "Well you're wrong."

The man turned to Jet, "Then maybe _you_ can enlighten me."

Suddenly Katara panicked, "He doesn't know anything, I met him before I joined the avatar. He-he doesn't even know Aang." Katara wasn't even sure why she was trying to protect him.

Jet's eyes widened as he turned her direction and his muffled words got louder. The man turned to the Dai Li, and rose his eyebrow in question.

"He was a ferry passenger sir. The girl ran into him and they seemed to know each other. He tried to help her escape."

"I see," Long Feng mused, "Take him to Lake Laogai."

"Yes…. Long Feng Sir."

"No Jet! What are you going to do to him?!" Katara was surprised by her own concern as a struggling Jet was pulled roughly from the room, his muffled yells still echoing through the hall.

Ignoring her words, Long Feng's eyes turned on her; his expression calm but murderous. Katara was suddenly terrified, "Now you better tell me everything you know. Otherwise it won't be your friend that you need to worry about."


	9. Change Against the Past

_Zuko_

"When Azula told me that we finally had something to do, this wasn't what I had in mind." Mai raised her head to look at Zuko. The blade still in her hand.

Zuko felt his heart leap into his throat, "Mai…" He repeated again dumbly, " I-I didn't think you'd be here."

"That's exactly it Zuko," Her voice retained it's indifferent tone but the words stung, "you _don't_ think." She took a step toward him.

"Mai you don't understand," Zuko spoke hastily, "The Fire Nation, my father, our country... we're doing horrible things. I need to do this. I need to help the avatar." He faltered, "A-and I can't let you stand in the way."

"Oh please, you're _betraying_ your country Zuko." Though she scoffed, Zuko sensed some hurt beneath her words.

"Mai please, don't make me fight you-"

"Zuko! I did it! Let's get out of here!" Sokka returned, appearing in the doorway, stopping short when he saw what was happening, "Oh."

Zuko reluctantly took a fighting stance, not wanting to hurt Mai. Sokka's eyes darted between the two of them nervously. Suddenly the girl lifted her blade and threw it, missing Zuko's heart by two inches and lodging into his shoulder. Reflex and instinct took over and Zuko reacted fast. Within seconds he had Mai pinned against the wall; not entirely aware of what he was doing

Zuko's golden eyes met her dark brown ones that shone with hurt, "It took me a while Mai, but without a doubt I know I'm on the right track." Then he turned around and ran out of the drill, leaving his old friend behind….

 _Zuko was sitting outside on earth tent, his head in his hands. Suddenly there was a woosh of movement and Katara came out. "Is he ok?" Zuko asked her anxiously._

 _She didn't turn around to face him but she did respond, "Go inside and see for yourself."_

 _Zuko opened his mouth to say something, but instead bit his tongue and walked inside the tent_

 _Iroh was laying on the ground, a bandage over the wound near his right shoulder. Zuko kneeled before him, "Uncle?" He felt like a child again and part of him hated it._

" _My nephew," Iroh's voice was weary but under it lay immense happiness, "You finally found your path."_

" _What?" Zuko was momentarily confused, "No uncle I-"_

" _Capturing the Avatar was never going to restore your honor, someone would have hurt you, like you sister tried today. But by letting someone you've considered your enemy for a long time help you, shows that you have found a new path. Towards humility and honor."_

" _No Uncle," Zuko argued back, "I didn't have a choice, that girl-"_

 _Iroh smiled, "We all have choices, and you could have taken me away if you wanted too. I'm proud of you, my nephew."_

 _Stunned and at a loss for words Zuko exited the tent. He was still mulling over Iroh's words when he saw the young airbender across camp: like Azula's lightning it struck him, he knew what he needed to do._

 _That night Zuko was about to head inside when he saw the waterbending girl Katara standing on the edge of the mountainside looking into the sky. All of a sudden he had the urge to say something to her_

" _Hey," Zuko said awkwardly when he approached her._

 _She turned her head away, "Aang says you're joining us now."_

 _Zuko swallowed; she didn't seem happy about it. "Yeah, I realized- I mean, my uncle helped me see that this was my destiny. My path to regaining my honor."_

 _She scoffed, "You and your honor…" Zuko was momentarily taken aback but then she turned her blue eyes on him, cold with distrust, "That's all you care about, don't think for a second that_ I _don't know that if it comes between helping us and preserving your honor, you'd betray us in an instant."_

 _Zuko wasn't sure why, but he felt an inexplicable urge to change this girls mind no matter what, "I will prove it to you."_

 _Her blue eyes returned to the horizon, and she said nothing. Zuko turned around to walk away but then stopped, "Also…." he faltered as those bright blue eyes met his once again, "Thank you. For healing Uncle."_

 _Her lips slipped into the tiniest smile as she said, "You're welcome." Before she turned around again._

 _Zuko headed back to the tent, his heart hammering loudly. He wasn't sure why but he knew it it started when she smiled._

As the four of them flew over the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, Zuko yanked out the bloodstained blade and inspected the wound on his shoulder, remembering how Mai had missed his heart by two inches. His eyes narrowed in thought. In all the years he'd known her he learned one thing; Mai never missed. All of a sudden Zuko did a double take; _She missed on purpose._


	10. Missing

_Katara_

Katara was in trouble. When she didn't answer Long Feng's, he motioned for the Dai Li agent to come forward. Silently, the man grabbed her tied wrists and pressed a sharp blade against her right cheek.

"Now," Long Feng leaned towards her, his eyes glittering with malice, "I will ask you again, what exactly did your friends discover?"

"I promise you, I don't know what you're talking about!" Katara protested, the panic in her voice rising rapidly. Blood had begun to bead where the edge of the blade met her skin. "We never found anything."

Long Feng was losing patience. "You're lying."

Blood droplets rolled down her face. Her voice quieted into a whimper, "You have to believe me…."

Long Feng didn't reply; instead he looked at the Dai Li agent and nodded sharply. The man raised the blade off her face and for a second Katara thought they were letting her go. She was wrong. Fast as lightning the agent brought the knife down. Katara's eyes widened and a scream escaped her before the world went dark….

 _Katara ran into the camp where Aang was meditating and Toph was cracking nuts with….Aang's staff? "Hey Aang," Katara asked the airbender, "Have you seen-"_

" _I'm meditating here." The airbender looked pissed; maybe his lessons with Toph still weren't going too well._

" _It's important," Katara made the worry in her voice apparent, "It's almost sundown and Sokka isn't back yet. I think we should search for him."_

 _The airbender leapt from the rock, "We'll find him faster if we split up." Aang took off towards the trees. Filled with worry Katara made to head off in the opposite direction._

" _Wait," A voice stopped her and she saw the Fire prince leaning against the rock canyon walls, his arms crossed and head down. "I'll come help you."_

 _Katara's eyes narrowed with distaste. "I can look for Sokka on my own."_

 _Zuko rose from against the wall, tilting his head to look at her, "Then I'll come with you and we can talk about why you hate me."_

 _Despite the firebender's words, relatively little talking occurred as the pair of them scoured their side of the canyon. Katara called out for Sokka's name while Zuko followed her like a shadow._

 _They wandered the area for what felt like hours to no avail. Katara's calls for her brother became more and more shrill as mounting panic began to settle in. Noticing this, the firebender awkwardly began to call out Sokka's name as well while they searched._

 _Katara reached a clearing where the ground turned into a cliff. The sun was now only barely visible over the horizon. Katara dropped to the ground hugging her knees. Inexplicably, tears began to leak out of her eyes._

 _She had sniffed loudly when she heard Zuko's footsteps behind her. They stopped. He cleared his throat sounding uncomfortable, "Um...are you ok?"_

 _Katara wiped her eyes, angry at herself and embarrassed for crying in front of the prince, "I'm fine."_

 _Zuko cleared his throat again, "I'm sure Aang and Toph have already found him."_

 _Suddenly Katara's anger at herself pivoted towards the Fire Prince, "You don't understand. My brother-" Her voice wavered, "he's all I have."_

" _If there's anyone one who understands being alone it's me." Zuko answered and Katara couldn't help but remember Iroh, who had left after he recovered from Azula's attack. Something about fulfilling his passion and letting Zuko face his destiny on his own._

 _She wiped her eyes and continued, "It's different for me. Gran-gran's back in the North Pole, I don't even know where dad is, and mom-" Her voice broke, "she's gone."_

 _Without saying anything Zuko sat down next to her, his short hair moving slightly in the gentle breeze. Only after a moment did he speak, "My mother is gone too."_

 _Katara couldn't help but look at the firebender in surprise. "I-I'm so sorry" She stammered._

 _His golden eyes didn't leave the horizon and he looked lost in thought, "You don't need to apologize" His voice was distant but not unkind, "She left a while ago. I think that's when I began to lose myself as well. I guess I always had uncle though." He said it like an afterthought but Katara could tell he missed him._

" _You're uncle really cares about you." Katara didn't really know what else to say._

" _Just like Sokka cares about you."_

 _The two of them sat in silence watching the sun set before Katara spoke again, "I don't hate you, Zuko." He turned his head towards her and smiled. Katara felt a swooping sensation in her stomach, "I guess it's just that whenever I think Fire Nation...I think of you."_

 _He stood and held out his hand to help her up, "Well hopefully I've changed that by now," She took his hand and returned his smile, "but let's go back before Aang thinks I murdered you or something."_

 _When they reached the camp, the sun had disappeared. Katara's face lit up when she saw Aang, Sokka, Toph and Momo all sitting beside Appa. "Sokka!" She ran to her brother and threw her arms around his neck. Over his shoulder Katara could see Zuko hanging back, scratching his head awkwardly. The two of them made eye contact._

" _Hey Katara look what I can do!" Katara turned around towards the avatar, grateful for an excuse to break eye contact with the prince. As Aang maneuvered a large boulder, Katara couldn't help but smile to herself. Boy was she gladl that Zuko couldn't see her blushing._

Katara woke up, the right side of her face stinging painfully. Dazed and disoriented she found herself in a prison cell; the walls were rock and the bars made of iron. Dim green lamps lit the dirty surroundings. Her face had been clumsily bandaged with white, now bloody gauze.

A pale, dirt-stained face with pink lips, green eyes, and black thick curly hair looked over her. The girls face broke in to a dry smile when she saw that Katara was awake. "Hey there, I'm Joo Dee. Welcome to Ba Sing Se."


	11. Masks and Lies

_Zuko_

As Appa was making his way over the outer wall, Zuko's thoughts strayed from Mai to Katara. His hand instinctively went to his chest where the blue necklace still lay in the folds of his shirt. Suddenly, he fell against the saddle; Appa had shifted, turning towards the outer wall.

"Aang, why are we going back?" Zuko asked when he had recollected himself.

"There are people on the wall waving at us." Aang guided Appa closer. The bison touched down on top of the wall where a bunch of earthbenders in identical uniforms stood behind a man wearing a regal green and gold set of armor.

"Avatar," The man spoke, his voice was high and squeaky, "I, General Tsung and the Terra-Team earthbenders thank you for defeating the drill….though I'm sure we could've handled it." The man added chuckling to no one in particular.

Sokka said something about cool team names, Toph scoffed, and Zuko turned around. _What a waste of time._ Before he could mount Appa, he was met face to face with a woman who he'd never seen before. She could only be described as unnatural. From her unnaturally straight hair, to unnaturally dark eyes, unnaturally pale skin, unnaturally red lips, and most unnatural of them all: her extremely unnatural smile.

"Hello, Prince Zuko." Upon hearing her voice the others turned around. She inclined her head towards them, "And Sokka, Momo, Toph, and of course Avatar Aang." Zuko's good eye narrowed in suspicion. He did not like this woman. "I'm Joo Dee, welcome to Ba Sing Se."

Sokka wiggled his eyebrows at her, "How do _you_ know who we are?"

She laughed, sending shivers down Zuko's spine, "The Earth King is very well informed on those who enter the city. Now come along."

Sokka, Toph, and Zuko were stuck in a carriage with Joo Dee while Aang followed overhead on Appa. For the past hour they listened to this woman's ramblings on the amazing culture and utopian organization of Ba Sing Se. "...And here we are, the inner ring. Where the most elite-"

"We're looking for our friend." Zuko interrupted her, sick of this and impatient, "We think she was brought here"

So was Sokka, "And we have information that we need to give to the Earth King-"

Joo Dee held up her hand, "Don't worry. You're in Ba Sing Se now, it's safe here."

Zuko clenched his fist and rather than yelling at the infuriating woman, resorted to glaring out the window. He noticed a bunch of green and black robed men lurking in shadows and alleys outside."Who are those men?"

Joo Dee turned her ever-present smile on Zuko. "Those are the cultural protectors of the city. The Earth King's Dai Li agents they help maintain-"

Something she said registered in Zuko's head, "Those are the men the sandbender talked about! Their the ones who have Katara! We need to talk to them."

Joo Dee laughed: again. "Don't be silly, the Earth King's men would never do such a thing. Your sandbending friend was mistaken."

Zuko was about to do something, anything to shut this woman up but Toph grabbed his arm. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. Rage simmered inside him he slumped in his seat.

"Here we are," The carriage stopped. "Your new home." Zuko, Sokka and Toph dismounted to meet Aang. "You'll find that arrangements for the Avatars bison have already been made."

All of them entered through the doorway but before Joo Dee could follow them in, Zuko slammed the door in her face, seething. "All of this… is a _complete_ waste of time." He looked at the others, "We should be looking for Katara-"

"Zuko," It was Toph who spoke, "Whoever that woman was, she was lying about the Dai Li. I could feel it."

"We need to be careful." Aang added.

Zuko snarled, "Fine. But I'm going for a walk." The firebender turned back around and headed out the back door, a flame in his fist.

It was now sunset and Zuko had spent the day tailing Dai Li agents under the guise of the Blue Spirit mask. Each time he was either led to a dead end, or lost track of the group he was tailing. Exhausted and frustrated, Zuko removed the mask and stumbled into a fancy tea shop called "The Jasmine Dragon."

He sank into a chair and ordered the first tea he saw on the menu. His head down, the firebender replayed what the man at the oasis had told him over and over again. _The Dai Li agents_. He was so sure that's what he heard. Suddenly a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Have I taught you nothing?" Zuko looked up shocked to see a man wearing an apron, "What nephew of mine orders plain green tea?"

Zuko's eyes widened and his heart swelled, "Uncle?"

The man smiled and sat down beside him, "You look troubled my nephew."

"Uncle," Zuko repeated again, "I need your help."

 **A/N: It's been a little while since last update but I'm going through a lot right now so updates will be a bit slower. However, as Zuko and Katara draw closer to reuniting and the Earth King's conspiracy unfolds, there are sure to be a lot more surprise twists on the way!**


	12. A Different Story

_Katara_

Katara scoffed,"Some welcome…" She tried to sit up and hissed in pain, her head throbbed.

Joo Dee helped her up and smiled apologetically, "Your head hit the bars when they dragged you in here."

Katara was now sitting, her back against the rock wall, "I don't understand." The last few days had been a horrible blur, "The Earth Kingdom is allies with the Avatar. Why would they hurt me?"

"You're friends with the avatar?" Katara nodded and Joo Dee's eyebrow rose, "That explains it…"

This time it was Katara who looked quizzical, "What do you mean?"

Joo Dee turned her brown eyes on her, "You haven't heard have you?"

When Katara shook her head in response Joo Dee drew in a long breath and began her story, "A while ago, Ba Sing Se had a different Earth King. He was fair and kind and welcomed refugees from anywhere across the world. He would do anything to protect those within the walls. But welcoming refugees came with its own struggles. Fire Nation soldiers would sneak in amongst refugees, and try to take down the Earth King government. They would hurt citizens, assault guards and try to infiltrate the palace. Many of the people were angry; they believed that the Earth King was weak to welcome refugees and allow this to happen. The head of the Dai Li, Long Feng, was one of them."

Katara made a noncommittal noise, she hated that man.

Joo Dee's eyes took on a new sadness as she continued, "He wanted control over who could enter. But more importantly he wanted the power of the crown. He had no royal lineage so that made it virtually impossible to claim himself King. However the King had a younger brother who was a constantly afraid, ignorant, and gullible man. A younger brother with a pet bear."

Katara cocked her head, "You mean Platypus-bear right?" Upon Joo Dee's stare she looked down, cheeks reddening, "Sorry….not the right time."

"Long Feng knew that the Earth King's brother, were he the one with the crown, would be easier to control. So one day, three years ago, the Dai Li agents staged a coup. The very agents sent to guard the King each night aided in his assassination."

Joo Dee's voice broke and Katara could make out tears in her eyes but nonetheless she continued. "The next day, the people of were told that the King and his daughter were killed in a terrible accident involving his brother's bear. Neither of their bodies were found but for a pile of bones. So the King's brother took the crown, but Long Feng was the one in control"

Katara shook her head, "How can Long Feng control someone if he isn't king? And it still doesn't explain why he took me, or why he hates the avatar."

Joo Dee gave her a sad smile, "At that time Dai Li agents had been developing ways to brainwash people, but it only worked on those who were weak minded. They can control everything the new King does with a simple phrase. Long Feng and his Dai Li agents have used this power to make most of the city believe that there _is_ no war, that Ba Sing Se is perfect. For those few refugees still allowed in, and those who can't be controlled, he uses intimidation and threats."

"That's terrible…" Katara couldn't think of anything else to say.

"If your airbending friend were to come in and appeal to the King, the truth would be revealed and every lie Long Feng told for the past three years would be revealed." Joo Dee's shining eyes pierced hers, "That's why they took you, and why they're keeping you here with me-"

Before either of them could say anything else and agent appeared with two trays of food and silently pushed them through the iron bars. A small cup of rice and sludge for Katara, and a suspiciously elaborate tray for Joo Dee, filled to the brim with delicacies. Katara's stomach rumbled; she hadn't eaten for days.

Joo Dee held out her food, "Here, take some of mine."

Hunger overrode manners and Katara consented. But it didn't make sense, "How come-"

Joo Dee interrupted, her voice eerily low and quiet, "I didn't get to tell you before…"

Katara was bewildered, "Tell me what?"

The green light cast a strange shadow across Joo Dee's face as she replied, "The Earth King's daughter never died."

"What do you mean? What's going on?" Katara was getting seriously tired of not knowing things.

"It's me _. I'm_ the princess."

 **A/N: Sketchy sketchy am I right? Not a lot happened action-wise in this chapter but it sure was different. Was Joo Dee lying? And if she wasn't then what's going to happen when Aang finally speaks to the Earth King? I wanted to write Joo Dee's dialogue as a flashback but that wouldn't go with the whole alternating Katara and Zuko viewpoints thing. I gotta say though writing this story had made this summer a lot better. Again thank you to all those who reviewed and more feedback is always welcome and appreciated.**


	13. Advice With a Cup of Tea

_Zuko_

Zuko and Iroh were sitting across from each other. Around them, the guests chattered and the smell of various tea-leaf concoctions swirled around in the air. Zuko could hardly believe he was talking to his uncle again but here they were. In a quaint but classy tea shop in the upper ring.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" Curiosity overtook his strife and Zuko had to ask.

Iroh smiled, "I told you that I was leaving to fulfill a lifelong dream." Iroh gestured around him full of happiness, "And now I finally have my own tea shop! I was going to name it 'The Tea Weevil' but then I thought about what you would say." Iroh chuckled and it was then that Zuko realized just how much he had missed him.

"I'm happy for you uncle. I really am. But I think I need your advice." Zuko's troubles came back to him.

The old man nodded seriously, taking a sip of his tea. The firebender continued, "A friend…" He paused, knowing 'friend' wasn't exactly the word he would use to describe Katara - but that didn't matter now. "...A friend of ours was captured. We know who took her. But there's this woman. She tells us that those men are with the Earth King, and that nothing is wrong in this city. I've tried to follow them, and I _know_ she's lying, but I've gotten nowhere." Zuko felt like the banished prince again, complaining to his uncle, "Uncle...I'm lost, I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm going to mess up."

Uncle put his hand on Zuko's shoulder, "My nephew, you've always followed your heart. That's made you suffer and hurt but it's also made you strong. It helped you find your path. If you believe that these men are responsible, then don't give up. Trust your instincts and you will find your friend."

Zuko stood up and spoke with earnest, "Thank you uncle. I missed you."

Iroh nodded, "I will always be there for you my nephew."

Zuko was about to leave but turned back again, "Will you come back with me?" He couldn't help but ask.

Iroh shook his head, "My place is here Zuko, and besides you don't need me for this. But when you do need me, I will most definitely be there." Iroh pulled his nephew into a sudden but comforting hug. When Iroh let go, his face shining, he gave Zuko one last wave before the firebender set off into the night.

It was twenty minutes later when Zuko returned to the house. Toph was sitting on the green carpet picking her nose, Sokka was rifling through what looked like a newspaper, Aang was playing with his air marbles, and Momo was walking around wearing a blanket as if it was a cape. When the door slammed behind him, Sokka and Aang looked up but Toph continued her nose picking.

"Did you find anything?" Aang asked. Zuko shook his head and sank into a plush chair, his legs weary from wandering.

"Hey guys look at this," Sokka was holding up the paper he had been reading, "The Earth King's holding a party for his pet bear in two days."

"You mean Armadillo-bear." Toph corrected as she flicked a booger onto the ceiling.

Eyeing the booger warily Zuko suggested, "or platypus-bear?"

Sokk shrugged, "It just says bear…but guys that's not the point. If we can get inside, we can talk to the Earth King and tell him about the eclipse."

Zuko sat up straighter, " _And_ we can look for Katara. If the Dai Li really do work for the crown then she's got to be near the palace."

"Not to burst your guy's bubble but there's no way you'll get in." Toph cut in. Everyone looked at her, not that it made a difference to the blind girl. "At best, using my past skill as a social elite," (Sokka scoffed at this) "I can _maybe_ get Aang in. But only if he dresses like a girl-"

"Hey!"

"But Sokka has to get in as a busboy and I don't know about you sparky." When she concluded Aang and Sokka were glaring at her.

Zuko however stood up from his chair, the blue spirit mask in his hands, "Don't worry about me. While you guys go to the party I'm going to find Katara."

"Zuko it's too dangerous for you to go alone." Aang protested.

Zuko shook his head, "There'll be less guards around because they'll be stationed at the party, and I'll have a mask to hide my face." Aang opened his mouth to rebuttal this but Zuko shot him down with a glare, "I'm going Aang. You do what you need to do but I'm going to find Katara."

With that, Zuko turned around and headed to his room, closing the door behind him with finality. A night breeze drifted through the window and the plain curtains swayed. The dark room was barren but for wooden walls and a mattress set on the floor. Zuko padded across the room and put the mask on top of his bags that had been placed there by Aang after he'd stormed off earlier.

He lay down on the floor, hands behind his head, his eyes staring at the ceiling. Just _two days_. In two days he would confront the Dai Li, and he would be ready. In two days, he would get Katara back. Iroh's words filled his head, _Trust your instincts and you will find your friend._ Closing his eyes Zuko turned on his side, feeling the weight of the necklace against him, and made a silent promise.

He _would_ find her.


	14. Hope at Last

_Katara_

When Joo Dee said those words Katara couldn't help but want to smash her head against the dungeon wall. The phrase, 'You learn something new everyday' had since her capture taken on a new meaning and she knew for sure that she didn't like it one bit. "Ok.. but how come they didn't kill you?"

Joo Dee set the cup of tea she had been drinking back on the tray, "Long Feng thought he could find a use for me. I started off as one of the first test subject for his brainwashing experiments."

"Why not just kill you after that?"

Joo Dee replied, "I'm not entirely sure….but as days pass and the war goes on, the unrest of the people grow. Long Feng is losing his grip. He's afraid and desperate. It wouldn't be entirely impossible if he brings me back, under his control of course, claiming to have found the lost princess."

"I guess that makes sense." Katara could see what she was getting at.

"Long Feng doesn't think like us. He's prideful but also extremely manipulative. With the brainwashing system near-perfect, Long-Feng has created a second army, one that's virtually undetectable but as dangerous as the Dai Li. He recruits young women, brainwashes them and turns all of them into his spies. They roam the city collecting information and suppressing revolt, with no violence, or anything. He's named all of them after me: Joo Dee."

"That's so twisted." Katara could barely wrap her head around it. But before either of them could say anything, the door slid open again to reveal a Dai Li agent.

Joo Dee stood up, "Time for my 30 minute walk."

Katara couldn't help but feel like these princess privileges were slightly excessive. She watched dully as Joo Dee's hands were securely fastened behind her back and she was led down the hall out of sight. With time to kill though, Katara's mind began to wander…..

 _It was the night before the gang was to depart for their 'vacations' (whatever Sokka meant by that). As of now though, Katara's brother was snoring, Toph was in her Earth tent, and after asking if Katara needed help, the Avatar was snoozing on a patch of grass. Wind stirred up the air around her. Katara was preparing everyone's stuff for their departure. She picked up Zuko's bag, making to place it on Appa's saddle with the others when something caught her eye. A blue mask poked out from the top. Some part of her recognized it, and without entirely realizing what she was doing, Katara took out the mask. A voice called out from behind her._

" _You couldn't sleep either?" Katara whipped around in surprise to see the firebenders silhouette against the moonlight_

" _What-oh yeah…" She awkwardly held up the mask, "This looked familiar. Sorry for going through your stuff."_

 _Zuko didn't look angry, instead he just shrugged, "The Blue Spirit mask. I haven't used it in a while. Just before when I had to do stuff without being recognized."_

" _The Blue Spirit?" The gears in Katara's head started turning, then her eyes widened, "You mean_ you're _the one that saved Aang."_

" _Well I guess….if we don't count what I would have done to him after." The prince replied, noncommittally._

 _Katara couldn't help but a laugh a little, and in response a smile even shone on the firebenders lips-_

The prison doors slid open again and though it had felt like only minutes, the half-hour had passed and the princess had returned. Katara hurriedly shook the image of smiling lips and vivid gold eyes from her brain. It was to no use though, the princess walked in silently and sat down facing away from her, as if they had never spoken before. The bars slid closed and the Dai Li retreated. The second he was out of sight Joo Dee turned toward her in earnest.

"The King's having a party!" Joo Dee whispered excitedly, her eyes wide.

"Um...ok….? Are we invited?" Prison had started to make her sound like Sokka.

"No, no you don't get it. I heard the staff talking. Tomorrow's party for the pet bear is the biggest event of the year. They'll need almost all the Dai Li and guards on duty." Joo Dee explained hastily. She looked like she expected some reaction but Katara gave none. Joo Dee groaned, "Don't you see? We can escape! There won't be as many guards _and_ I know a way out through the catacombs."

"Ok…" Katara was skeptical, "But how exactly do we get out of the cell?"

Without responding, Joo Dee moved to the back wall and with some struggle, pulled out a block from the cell wall. From inside the cavity she removed a cloth package. Unwrapping it she revealed a single metal key. Breathless with excitement she turned to Katara, "I've been keeping this for years since I was first captured, but there were always so many guards and no place to go. But now, the two of us can get out of here and I can join you and your friends to take this city back."

At Joo Dee's words, Katara felt something inside her that she thought she had lost when those agents took her: hope. "Maybe we can do it."

Joo Dee rambled on with a possible escape plan but Katara could barely hear her. She was getting out of here. To her brother, to Aang, to everyone else. To _Zuko._ Resolve joined budding hope. She looked at the key now lying on the dirty floor: she was coming home.

 **A/N: WAIT. If Zuko plans to rescue Katara at the same time Katara plans to escape….will they collide horribly or even worse, miss each other completely? Ideally the result would be an awesome mid jail-break reunion full of kicked Dai Li asses, but the best never seems to happen for our duo. Sorry for not updating in a while but hopefully what comes next will be worth it. Thank you again for all the support and reviews; they really help a lot. And as always I love to hear more feedback!**


	15. Unmistakable

_Zuko_

"Ow! What the heck Toph?!" Inside the house on the Upper Ring, Zuko heard Aang's protest as Toph and Sokka proceeded to dress him like a noblewoman. Turns out the earthbender hadn't been lying after all. Nonetheless, having a blind girl and a self-proclaimed masculine Water Tribe genius do your hair and make-up couldn't be that great. Wincing slightly on Aang's behalf, Zuko got dressed in his blue spirit clothing, picking up his mask and his double broadswords. He transferred the necklace from his normal clothes to these ones, his eyes stopping on the charm for half a second longer than normal.

"I think you look beautiful!" Toph exclaimed with finality and Zuko looked up to see a very disgruntled airbender before him. Admittedly though, but for a few stray hairs and slightly smudged lip tint, the avatar didn't look all that bad. But Zuko only had his mind on one thing: getting to the party.

After a five minute walk punctured by Aang's complaining and Sokka straining to fit Momo under his busboy hat, the quartet finally reached the Earth King's palace. They went over the plan once more then baded each other good luck. Aang and Toph headed to the guests queue and Sokka departed to the side of the palace where the busboys were making preparations. Slipping the mask over his face and adjusting the broadswords strapped to his back, the Firebender took of into the night shadows.

Zuko scoured the palace in search of a door or passageway inside. Through the mask his eyes zeroed in on a Dai Li agent moving silently across the ground before ducking into a crevice in the Palace wall, disappearing from sight. Unsheathing his swords, the firebender followed in after him.

Before him, the Dai Li agent gilded swiftly down the dim passageway and turned a corner. As Zuko followed ten feet behind, the passageway widened out in to a dingy dark room with stone walls, crammed with Dai Li agents, and strange women wearing the same set of light green clothes. Zuko didn't dare step inside and instead peeked around the doorway.

The agent he had been tailing stopped before two other agents. His voice was low but distinct and Zuko just barely made out what he had said.

"There's been a disturbance in the dungeon. Long Feng requests reinforcements-"

"Aagh!" Suddenly, Zuko was yanked roughly away from the wall by two Dai Li agents who had showed up behind him. Silently, the agents led him away from the room, his hands pinned behind his back.

Struggling and cursing, the masked firebender was led down a series of stone steps and labyrinthine passageways. His surrounding began to change as rows of prison cells and locked metal doors began to line the doors. The path before him forked right and as Zuko drew nearer to it he could make out sounds of struggle.

"They've escaped!" A voice called out down the passageway.

Zuko wasn't entirely sure what compelled him to do so but with a swift kick backward he disarmed the agents holding him. The firebender spun to face them, knocking them out in a flash of punches. He grabbed his swords from one of the agents and sprinted towards the sound of trouble.

He reached the disturbance to find five Dai Li agents fighting in the narrow hallway. In the middle of the melee Zuko could see a pale girl with dark hair and brown eyes, back to back with another girl whose features he couldn't entirely make out. They were surrounded. But what he could see of the second girl was a tiny stream of water moving at the command of the her hands. Zuko's eyes widened.

With a deep breath he plunged into the fight, his swords slashing at every black robed figure within reach. The fight was a series of grunts and thumps. In an unprocessable blur, four out of the five agents were unconcious on the ground. Sometime during the fight, Zuko's swords had left his grip and he was now in a hand to hand tussle with the remaining agent. Grunting, the Dai Li agent pinned Zuko against the wall. A yell from one of the girls caught his attention and he turned to see the two figures making there escape. The darkness and vision limiting mask prevented him from making out much.

With the Dai Li agent still struggling against him, Zuko watched, feeling helpless as the second girl turned the corner away from view. Just before she dissapeared, the girl turned back to look at him for just a second, as if she wanted to help him, but the other girl pulled her away. Zuko tried to call out to her but the reinforcements had arrived. Swiftly, rock gloves from the arriving agents fastened around him and his struggling form was hauled in the opposite direction. Zuko was worried about one thing though: he _had_ to get to that girl.

It may have been dark and he may have been wearing a mask, but those bright blue eyes were unmistakable.

 **A/N: ….**


	16. Lost and Longing

_Katara_

She was running like hell. Unusual enough though, Katara was only vaguely aware of her sprint through the tunnels. Joo Dee's hand leading her, the waterbender's mind was, to say the least, occupied at the moment.

 _The blue mask._ That _blue mask._ Visions of a mask sticking out of a bag and the small moonlit smile of a certain firebender were all she could think of as she and Joo Dee were running. She wanted to go back. No, she _needed_ to go back. But the reasonable, self-preservational side of her had took over her legs. That matched with Joo Dee's hand locked around hers in a iron grip told her that was no longer an option. The funniest thing was that thirty minutes ago, she never would have dreamed of turning back for anything…..

 _The dungeon was silent but for the intermittent dripping of water from the ceiling onto the rock floor. It was annoying, like the ticking of an incessant clock, telling you that you were running out of time. If she could, she would have been pacing, but instead both Katara and Joo Dee resorted to sitting in a nervous silence. Joo Dee had the key hidden in her robe sleeve and Katara had been sitting as close to the nearest puddle as possible. There was nothing else to do but wait, so wait they did._

 _After what felt like hours later, there was a seemingly sudden emergence of sound as simultaneously, all the guards and Dai Li agents began to move. Afternoon shift was over. It happened like clockwork every day with no change in schedule, except for today. At the sound, Katara and Joo Dee locked determined eyes. For today's evening shift, one third of the guards would instead be reassigned to various locations in order to keep tabs on tonight's party. When the sound of scuffling footsteps stopped, Katara exhaled slowly, called the puddle water to her fist, and gave a sharp nod to Joo Dee, who sprung into action._

 _Quick as lightning they had the cell door open and the two girls rushed out. The nearest guard echoed the beginning of surprised cry before Katara silenced him with a sharp blow. So far so good. As silently as they could, the two girls moved along systematically. Joo Dee lead the way as Katara took out each guard or agent she met._

 _Their luck ran out when Joo Dee turned a corner running into an agent. The metal key clattered loudly to the floor. Before either of them could do anything, there was a sharp yell from the guards and they were surrounded. Cursing, Katara sprung into action, slashing what little water she had into every guard and agent she could see. Joo Dee did her best too but that wasn't really much. In what felt like seconds she had run out of water and they were done for._

This is it _She thought._ Time to die. _Until a yell and the slump of an agent falling to the floor reached her ears, and Katara saw a dark blue mask…._

The smack of a something to the front of her head pulled Katara out from the depths of her mind.

"Ahh sorry, it was a low doorway I should've warned you." Katara heard Joo Dee's voice as spots swam before her eyes. The two of them were panting.

"It's ok." Blinking rapidly, Katara adjusted to her surroundings as if she had just woken up. They had finally made it out of the Palace and were standing before a small doorway carved into the palace wall, hidden from outside view. The sun had set completely and it had begun to pour in the dark cloudy sky. Katara searched for relief that she had made it out but instead felt nothing but a strange longing. Squaring her shoulders and shooing the doubt from her mind, Katara raised her hand to bend rainwater away from her and Joo Dee's heads. "Let's go before they find us."

The two of them made their way through the dark, now empty courtyard outside of the palace under Katara's bending-made umbrella. Just before the passage into the palace wall shrank out from view. Katara looked back one last time, her head still throbbing. Leaving enemies and friends behind as they trudged through the pouring rain.

 **A/N: Sorry it's been awhile since last update. School started so I've been busy with adjusting. I also have daily practice now so that's also changed up my schedule. Not a very eventful update but it is a link to the next update which is definitely more interesting. Also…. The Zutara reunion is much closer than it appears ;).**


	17. The Truth

_Zuko_

His mask was off and he was snarling. The Dai Li agents dragged him back through the mildew covered rock walls. Zuko kicked and writhed, fire spewed from his nose angrily as his hands were tied securely behind his back with rock gloves. The only thing he knew though was that he _had_ to get back to Katara. He was so close that it was almost painful, the image of her large blue eyes seared into the back of eyelids.

"Let go of me!" He yelled as he was pushed roughly around a corner. The struggle continued until minutes later when Zuko was brought to a room back on the ground floor of the palace and thrown roughly onto the inordinately lush green carpet. Though the side of his face was pressed against the ground, the firebender could make out dim green lamps, a jade fire, and rows and rows of scrolls lining the walls. _Great. Another Library._

"And who is this?" Zuko, couldn't see the owner but he heard the smug voice from somewhere to the right of him. Suddenly, and with a yelp, Zuko was yanked upright and rotated so he was on his knees facing the person who had spoken.

The silhouette of a robed man with a sharp goatee contrasted against the greenish fire that he sat in front of. Zuko's eyes narrowed in disdain.

"Zuko!" The firebender turned his head to the left to see Sokka, Toph and Aang, and….Momo? They were tied up on their knees like him. The Dai Li agent behind him forced his head forward and he was facing the man again.

"We found him near dungeons Long Feng sir. He was being led to a cell when he attempted to escape and help two other girls-"

"You found Kata-ow!" Aang tried to shout before he was silenced.

Zuko glared at Long Feng, "Those girls are gone." He said it with pride, "They escaped."

The man laughed, "Foolish prince, your plan failed…..everyone is right where they should be."

Zuko couldn't help but feel a sinking sensation in his stomach. They had to have escaped. _They had to._ He tried to say something. To tell the stupid man the he was wrong, but no words came. Instead, the man leaned forward, leering at the four kids and one lemur, "Now, my agents tell me that you want to speak to the Earth King."

"Yeah, where is he and why can't we talk to him?" Sokka had spoken up, "And _why_ does no one talk about him or the war?"

Long Feng's face scrunched with anger, "There _is_ no war in Ba Sing Se. We live in the last peaceful Utopia on earth, and the King does not have time to worry about the whims of three foolish kids and a fake avatar. I won't allow his mind to be corrupted by you."

"You've been lying to everyone!" Toph shouted in response, her face one of indignation and anger, "I bet the King doesn't even know-"

"Enough! You and your friends have caused enough trouble in this city. I understand that you are looking for your friend-"

Zuko breathed fire, "You have her! She was the one escaping in the prison-" Rocks closed around his mouth but his eyes burned with flames.

"I assure you we would never do such a thing. Those _girls_ you saw were part of an assassination plot against the King." Suddenly he smiled, "You will be placed on 24 hour surveillance when you return, any other infraction and you will be banished." He turned to the agents, "Escort them out."

Minutes later the four of them were led out until the palace wall, then left to trudge home themselves in the rain. Everyone was silent and slow as they made their way down the puddle filled roads. Raindrops hammered both their heads and the ground while the sky around them was a dark, mournful gray.

Inside, Zuko was seething. He was so close. _So close_. But it had all gone wrong, Katara had not escaped, they didn't talk to the Earth King, and they were back at square one. Zuko wanted to scream, fight, run, _something._ But there was literally nothing, _nothing_ he could do to get Katara back-

"Joo Dee hurry up!"

Zuko's head snapped up and his eyes scanned the desolate streets in the pouring rain. Nothing.

"We don't want them to catch us!"

He heard it again and this time there was no mistaking it.

The firebender uncoiled like a spring and took off into the maze of streets and buildings in the direction of the voice, leaving his friends and their surprised cries behind in the dark, pouring, rainy night.

 **N/A: AHHH Im so excited! Sorry it's been a while again - guess I just can't catch a break. Maybe Zuko and Katara will tho :).**


	18. Rain and Reunion

_Katara_

They were drenched, tired, and just in a bad place. But Katara knew they had to keep moving. Somewhere, _anywhere_ , just to get away from the Dai Li and find a way to leave the city. But the incarceration had taken its toll and Joo Dee was lagging behind. The girl's face was strained with exhaustion and her breathing had become labored as she stumbled through the pouring rain.

Ignoring her own fatigue, Katara called out one more time, "Joo Dee, please!"

The princess opened her mouth to respond but before she could, the sound of loud running footsteps slapping against the wet pavement reached the ears of the two girls from somewhere behind them. A dark figure hurtled towards Katara, shoving past Joo Dee as she made a sound of shock and annoyance, grabbing her shoulder irately. Before Katara could turn to face it, the figure grabbed her by the shoulders roughly, whipping her around so they were face to face.

The dark night and the pouring rain made it impossible to discern the person whose face was inches from her own. But despite the darkness she was shocked to find a pair of bright golden eyes before her, it's gaze piercing and familiar, and the hot breath of whoever it was on her face. A sudden bout of dizziness overcame her and her eyes swam. "Zuko?"

The shining golden eyes widened, " _Katara"_

And that was all the confirmation she needed.

Weeks of exhaustion, tears, longing, fear and everything else in between hit her like a tidal wave. Her legs gave way and she collapsed forward, falling into the firebender.

With a grunt of surprise, Zuko hastily struggled to catch her and they both fell to the ground. Kneeling on the wet streets in the pouring rain, Katara began to sob loudly and uncontrollably into the firebender's rain-drenched shoulder. As she cried, she could feel his arms tighten around her as he whispered in her ear that everything was going to be ok. She cried and cried and cried, letting out all the feelings she had suppressed since the day she was taken. But Zuko was right, because for the first time in weeks, here in his arms, she was finally safe, and a little bit more hopeful. The sound of more footsteps thundered down the street until they stopped before her.

"Katara!" She heard her brother. As if shocked by a bolt of lightning, Zuko drew away from her suddenly. Sokka dashed forward tackling her in an embrace that Aang and Momo robustly joined. Toph kneeled beside them patted the waterbender on the head with grudging affection.

Over Sokka's shoulder, and Momo's ear, Katara could make out that Zuko had gotten up. His shoulder were hunched and upon eye contact with the waterbender he cleared his throat and directed his vision towards his feet.

Katara, wiped her last tears as she and her friends picked themselves of the ground.

Sokka had begun to talk rapidly, no letting go of Katara's arm, "We-had-no-idea-where-you-were-but-then-we-went-to-the-bar-in-the-oasis-and-Zuko-beat-up-some-sandbenders-and-they-said-that-you- _wait_." His blue eyes found Joo Dee standing awkwardly to the side, rubbing the shoulder that Zuko had rammed into. "Who is _she?_ "

Katara, who had been looking intently at the firebender quickly averted her eyes toward her brother, "Oh- it's a really long story."

The robed girl walked up to the group of them, her wet hair sticking to her forehead. They were all huddled around Katara (except for Zuko who was still off to the side staring at the ground). She raised a hand awkwardly, "Hi….I'm Joo Dee."

The reaction was instantaneous: Sokka yelped and jumped a mile backwards, Toph had a boulder all of a sudden, Aang spun his staff into a fighting stance, and a flame had ignited in Zuko's fist.

Katara stepped between them and the girl. "Whoa, whoa, what are you guys doing?"

Pushing her aside gently, Joo Dee stepped forward, "It's ok, you probably think I'm one of Long-Feng's assistants?"

Sokka spoke from behind Zuko's shoulder, "That's exactly what we think."

"Guys I promise we will explain everything but we need to get out of here first, the Dai Li probably isn't far behind." Katara had become anxious again

After convincing the gang to head towards the house, Katara and the others began making their way to the upper ring. Zuko stayed deliberately ahead of the waterbender the whole time, and she felt like she should do or say something.

Half an hour of weary movement had led them to the house. Sokka unlocked the door and the sopping wet kids filed into the house.

"Zuko, wait." Katara called out before the firebender could make his way inside. The door shut closed and suddenly it was just the two of them on the front steps under the overhang, the rain hammering at the roof and the ground around them.

At a loss of words now that he was before her, Katara stuttered, "I, uh, just wanted to say thank you- or sorry- or something. I-"

"You don't have to." His voice was awkward but gentle.

She cleared her throat, "I know it was you….under the mask at the prison. Without you we never would have made it, and then I left you there…."

"Hey its ok." He said, and Katara locked eyes with him in surpise, "The whole point was to get you out anyways-"

Cutting him off, without entirely knowing what she was doing, Katara threw her arms around his neck and he stumbled backward in surprise. Quick as wind, she whispered "thank you" in his ears, and departed into the house leaving him in a state of shock.

Katara rushed through the house, before dashing into the first empty room she could find. She slammed the door and collapsed against it, sinking to the floor. Her was heart racing, and her body was still burning where his arms had touched her.

 **A/N: OMG! Part one is officially completed. It's been a long and largely inconsistent (Sorry) ride but I hope you guys have liked it up to now. The story does get a lot more interesting here and since the gang is reunited they need to focus on the problem at hand which is the twisted and tangled plot surrounding the throne of Ba Sing Se. Please leave a review on how this first part was - all feedback is appreciated and thanks!**


	19. Hidden Meaning

_Zuko_

Zuko stood outside on the porch a lot longer than an average human would on a dark and rainy night. Cheeks tinged scarlet, and with a stupidly dazed expression on his face, Zuko replayed the reunion over an over again, from the way Katara had collapsed in his arms to the hug that occurred just seconds ago. Only when a crash of thunder shocked him out of his thoughts did he turn around to step inside.

Warm air and the smell of food hit Zuko's face the moment he opened the door. Momo and Aang were playing with Aang's marbles on the green carpet. Sokka had spread out a series of indiscernible papers on the sitting table that they usually ate at. Toph had resumed picking her nose.

The new girl Joo Dee however, was working in the kitchen, humming absentmindedly to herself as she cut vegetables. Zuko wasn't sure whether or not he trusted this girl completely, but so far she'd gone longer than an hour without killing any of them _and_ she had helped Katara escape.

"Hey Zuko,"

He turned around towards Sokka who was squinting at the damp papers, tapping the brush against his chin, causing ink to collect on his face, "you scouted the palace right?"

The firebender moved to sit down next to Sokka, "Yeah, why?"

"I was just thinking….we need to get to the Earth King somehow, and we can't easily do that with Long Feng hounding us. If we can find another way into the castle, we could go to the Earth King, reveal the conspiracy, and get his help." Sokka's eyes darted across the rough sketches of the palace that he was drawing.

Suddenly, someone placed a pot filled with steaming liquid over the papers, blocking the diagrams from view.

"Hey! I was working on that!" Sokka looked up to find Joo Dee placing small bowls of rice around the table.

She glanced at him, "The Earth King isn't going to help."

Sokka huffed, "And how do you know that?"

Joo Dee sat down and cast him a glare, "I know that because I'm the _princess."_

Sokka's jaw dropped open, Aang stopped playing with his marbles to stare at her, Toph's finger halted an inch from her nose, and even Zuko had to stop from wondering where Katara was and pay attention (not that he had been distracted or anything).

Grimly, Joo Dee recounted the story she had told Katara just three nights ago. As Zuko listened, her couldn't help but relate to her. A prince and princess both turning against their country to fight for a bigger cause. But Joo Dee had been good from the start, Zuko's cheeks burned, it definitely wasn't like that in his case.

"Wow…." Aang said when she was finished.

Sokka stroked his ink-stained chin comically, "Correct me if I'm wrong but I _think,_ we need to change the plan now."

Joo Dee's eyes met his and she smiled, "I think you do, but know that I will do whatever it takes to help the avatar," she nodded at Aang regally, " and lead my city into a better era."

Zuko couldn't help but feel jealous. This bruised, dirt-caked girl had more honor than he felt he ever had as Fire Prince. He was about to say something when the Katara's door opened.

The girl joined to sit down, "Sorry I took so long. The bathroom is open now Joo Dee." The other girl smiled and got up, soon dissappearing behind the door. Zuko tried to make eye contact with the waterbender but her face was bent down so that her hair shaded her face.

"Katara is something wrong?" Sokka had noticed too and was looking at her worriedly.

"No." She turned away from his scrutiny.

Eyebrows narrowed suspiciously, Aang blew a gust of wind towards her, pushing her hair back to reveal her a thin red gash across the right side of her face, it must have been about three days old and no one noticed in the darkness outside but in the brightly lit room, it was in jarring contrast to her tan skin.

Casting Aang a cold look of loathing, the water tribe girl stood up and fled to the nearest room with tears in her eyes, leaving the others in shock.

Zuko stepped into the dark bedroom to find Katara sitting (and sobbing) against the doorway opening up into a small balcony where the rain poured. He padded across the room and sat down next to her.

"Hey," He could think of nothing else to say.

The girl turned away, "I bet you think I'm being ridiculous," She sniffed.

"I don't actually," He pointed to his own face, "I have some experience in the scar department." She looked at him and let out a watery laugh that sent a not unpleasant shiver down his spine, "But for me, this scar represented my dishonor and how I was a banished prince that wasn't good enough for his own father."

Katara began to apologize but Zuko continued, reaching out lightly to brush the hair away from Katara's face, "For you though, all that shows is how brave and strong you are." Katara's hand still lingered over the gash and in that moment Zuko decided that Long Feng would very much regret it if they were to ever meet again.

Katara turned to face him, placing her hand over his, "You're better than your father Zuko...you always have been. Never forget that."

He nodded and got up, opening the door to leave.

"Thank you...again," she called out softly. He paused to smile at her, then closed the door behind him.

The others had all retired and now the main room was dark as well, and the rain hammering the roof was still discernible through the ceiling. Before Zuko could return to his room, he pulled out the necklace and turned back to face the door. Wrapping it up in a small red handkerchief printed with the fire insignia, he bent down and placed it under the door, leaving with it, all of the weight he had carried before.

Funny how just a small, blue necklace can have so much meaning.


	20. First Sunlight

_Katara,_

Katara woke up to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wood from a door that lead to a porch outside her room. Despite (or because of) the fact that she had been locked in a dingy cell with no sunlight for days, Katara felt great. She yawned loudly and stretched before stumbling slightly towards the door that lead to the rest of the house.

Pushing the door open and rubbing her eyes, Katara looked down to see a red innocent looking folded handkerchief on the floor. Still bleary eyed, she picked it up and unfolded it to see her mother's blue necklace at the center. She vaguely remembered it falling off in the desert thinking it was lost for good. It seemed like that had happened ages ago. Katara's eyes had barely noticed the black fire nation insignia emblazoned on the cloth when Zuko walked past her.

He was rubbing his wet hair with a white cloth looking disgruntled as usual when he stopped, his gold eyes traveling to the blue necklace in Katara's palm and back up to meet her eyes. His face cracked into a small smile and he walked on, still drying his jet black hair. Blushing slightly and seeing flashbacks of the night before, Katara cleared her throat and followed him into the main living room area.

The large room was lit with sunlight and everyone was awake and active. In a scene very reminiscent of last night, Toph was picking her nose, Sokka was sitting on the floor looking at an array of papers on the ground, Joo Dee was cleaning up dishes, and Aang was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone stopped to look at her including Toph. Sokka cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Aang's in the back feeding Appa. He says he wants to talk to you."

Upon Zuko's nod of encouragement, Katara swallowed and made her way to the back

The backyard was about as huge as that of Toph's parents house and was equally pretty. At the very back was a large wooden shed in which Aang was feeding Appa hay that had been dropped of by some guards (or the "other Joo Dee" that Sokka had been talking about) earlier that morning.

"Hey Aang."

The airbender dropped the hay, turned around as Appa growled, clearly happy to see that Katara was in fact alive.

"Katara..." the airbender paused, "I wanted to tell you….I'm really sorry for what I did last night. It was dumb, and mean, and if you didn't want to show us I should've just let it go." His eyes shined with apology.

Katara smiled, "It's ok Aang. Zuko made me see that it wasn't really that big a deal after all."

His shoulders relaxing, Aang stepped forward and pulled Katara into a hug, "I missed you."

Feeling even better than she did this morning, Katara headed back inside, refilled her water sack, and made to head out the front door into the town. Her hands were inches from the door handle when Zuko, sitting cross legged on the plush green rug called out, "Katara where are you going?"

She turned around, "outside…"

Sokka looked up from the complicated diagrams on his papers. "Katara, you can't leave. There are agents everywhere and they're probably on the lookout for you and Joo Dee. It's not safe."

Katara sighed, "I don't care. I've been in prison for way too long. I'm going to go."

"I'll come with you." Zuko offered, rising to his feet.

She shot him a look, "I can take care of myself" she retorted in a very Toph-like manner.

Suppressing the guilt upon seeing the hurt look on Zuko's face, Katara marched out the door, letting it slam just as Toph called out, "Bye Sugar Queen!"

In an angry huff, Katara proceeded to storm down the street to spirits-know-where, desperate to both forget Zuko's hurt expression and to finally enjoy some fresh air and sunlight. The wide road was filled with fancy horse drawn carriages and heavily made-up women chatting and strolling along with their patterned parasols shielding them from the sun. On her way, Katara passed a spa, a bunch of fancy looking shops, and an extremely crowded tea shop before arriving at a restaurant, the smell of which made her stomach rumble.

Remembering that she hadn't yet eaten breakfast, Katara walked through the threshold only to do a double take. Sitting at a table was Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot. Relief flooded through her and she ran across the room throwing her arms around Jet. "Jet, you're ok! I was so worried. The Dai Li-"

"Katara?" Jet interrupted her looking very confused. Definitely more confused than he should have been. "What're you doing here….. and why aren't you mad at me?"

"What?" Katara released her arms from around his neck and looked into his brown eyes disbelievingly. "I escaped from Long Feng after they took you away from the palace library."

Jet's expression morphed into concern, "Katara I've never been to the palace, or a library. The last time I saw you was….well, when I tried to blow up that dam and you stopped me."

Katara stumbled back in shock as if she'd been stabbed by one of his hooks. As the two of them faced each other with equal expression of shock, Katara could only think one thing.

 _How could he not remember?_


	21. The Power of Memory

_Zuko,_

Zuko inspected the map of the Earth Kingdom palace that lay amongst the many other scrolls Sokka had strewn on the ground. Most of which came from the library in what seemed like ages ago. The firebender squinted at the inked lines: "None of these rooms seem both covert and big enough to hide an entire brainwashing operation from the city."

After Katara ran off that morning, the rest of the group (plus Joo Dee) decided to work on the schematics of a seemingly impossible plan to expose Long Feng and allow Joo Dee reclaim the throne,. But Zuko couldn't get over it. The way she snapped at him hurt, especially after he thought he was finally…. getting somewhere with her….

"I don't get it!" Sokka exclaimed loudly, snapping Zuko out of his reverie, "There isn't a single place in the palace. Even the prisons aren't good enough!"

Joo Dee mused, "Maybe….it isn't in the palace. Long Feng used to say something about a lake."

"Oh yeah, because an underwater brainwashing operation _totally_ makes sense."

"Well it could-" Joo Dee almost shot back before the front door blew open.

Katara rushed in dragging with her a protesting teenager with tan skin and brown hair. He had a piece of grass or something between his teeth and hooks strapped to his belt. Zuko immediately disliked him. The prince then turned around to see Aang and Sokka with there weapons drawn.

"Katara you brought _Jet?_ I though you hated him!" Aang yelled at the waterbender.

"Oh hey Aang-" Jet gave the avatar an infuriating wink as Katara threw him into a chair causing the grass to fall out of his mouth, and froze ice around him: "Woah, what're you doing?"

Ignoring him Katara looked at the others, "He's been brainwashed. He forgot everything."

"Forgot everything? You mean him _blowing up a dam?"_ Sokka asked incredulously.

"No, I mean when we tried to escaped and got captured together. I met him on the ferry and the agents took us to Long Feng. We got separated and I thought… well, that he was dead." She said it as if it were obvious, but Zuko and everyone else had no idea that this had happened.

"Katara, I've been living peacefully in the city. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Apparently Jet didn't either. It did make some sense though. It corroborated Joo Dee's story and Katara didn't have reason to lie. "So how do we get his memory back?" Zuko questioned, looking suspiciously at the restrained teenager.

"Maybe Katara should kiss him. That should bring something back!" Sokka eyed his sister.

"Maybe _you_ should kiss him, Sokka." The waterbender shot back.

"Was this guy your boyfriend or something?" Toph asked. Upon Katara's red faced yet adamant refusal the earth bender snorted,"I can tell when you're lying…"

Zuko's good eye widened. _Boyfriend? When?_ He couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. _What's so great about him?_ Shaking his head, he refocused to see Sokka squinting at Jet.

"I know!" Sokka exclaimed, "The fire nation. Think about what they did to your family."

Jet nodded and then bent his head in concentration. Sweat began to bead on his forehead and run down his chin. Breathing hard he opened his eyes, unfocused and full of pain. "No! It's too painful," He choked out.

"Maybe this will help." Katara placed her water covered hands on either side of his head.

Zuko felt jealously flare up at the concern in her voice. He looked at the pair of them with mild disdain. Jet's face was once again pinched with pain but the blue water around his head pulsed and glowed. He opened his eyes again and turned around to face the water bender; "Katara! I remember it. All of it! We met on the ferry, and I tried to help you, but we got captured and…."

"And then what?" Zuko couldn't help but ask.

"They took me to this place. I can't remember exactly what it was called. Long Feng said….something _Laogai…."_

Joo Dee who had thus far been silent piped up, "Lake Laogai?"

"That's it! Lake Laogai."

"Ha ha I was right!" Joo Dee pointed at Sokka mockingly.

Zuko watched as Katara unfroze the ice around Jet, and gave him a hug when he stood up. She suddenly turned red and pulled away, mumbling something about being glad he didn't die. Zuko felt the urge to rip the tan teenager away from Katara as jealousy along with other emotions both boiled his blood and chilled his heart at the same time. He barely heard Aang when he spoke:

"Tomorrow, we head to Lake Laogai."


End file.
